Another Path to Greatness - Part II

[BigWoollyJumpers]

Here we are.

@SATSmadness - totally agree about the longer courses. Your DD is a prospective medic IIRC.

DD (now year 12) was torn between Vet Med and Medicine until someone told her that few vets earn more than £45k pa and with £75k or so of student debt to pay off, you're forever chasing your tail financially! I'm in no doubt that she'd prefer to be working with puppies than geriatrics but she can't afford to! Medicine it is then.....

[quote chopc]@IrmaFayLear however the feedback was useful for your DS as he was able to confirm it was the interview which let him down which supported his desire to have another crack

*@SATSmadness as for applying next year. I would be tempted to encourage DS to do so if he gets 3xA as you get compulsory pooling. However it is good to remember that this year Cambridge gave offers to the people they really WANTED on their courses irrespective of the limit on the offers.

As we are not privy to an interviewer's reception of a student - who knows if next year will be different. However if DC are going to take a year out anyway for other reasons, I think they should absolutely reapply - if you are not in it you can't win it [/quote]
Hi chopc - I would be interested to hear why you think 3 x A* in hand gives you compuslory pooling?

Chopc - standard route for law is that you apply for training contract in second year of law degree and after law degree you did your LPC so year 3 of dgree and 1 year LPC is what you did in the two year's prior to starting the training contract.

If you are doing a non law degree you apply in the final year of that degree and the two year's inbetween are spent doing the GDL (conversion) and the LPC before strating the training contract.

(Of course, GDL/LPC will be replaced by SQE now)

[quote SATSmadness]'**@MidLifeCrisis007*

I can see the logic there as I believe that student finance debt doesn't affect your ability to get a mortgage as much as some other types of debt.

However, student finance debt seems to have higher interest rate than mortgage finance currently.

I think there's an element of gambling/needing a crystal ball as we're all wise with hindsight as to what the best strategy might be. It's a much more difficult decision for DC who will probably end up as high earners and especially those with parents who would be able to fund them to quite an extent from savings or spare income.

I got an unpleasant surprise when i found that interest starts to be charged when the student finance loans are taken up so whilst the DC are studying, with no spare income to be making repayments, the interest is racking up.

Those students on a 5/6 year course must build up quite a bit of additional debt in the form of interest added.[/quote]
It doesn't affect your abilioty to borrow but unfortunately any repayments you have to make are taken into account when they calculate the affordability and they are much hotter on this these days so I am afraid I am not happy that ML does not elaborate on this point either and tends to brush that off.

It says so in this information from 2016/17, via FOI request:
'...applicants (except those for Mathematics and Medicine) with an overall average of 93% or more, who are not offered places by their preference Colleges, MUST be pooled (all Maths modules are counted as one subject).
In the case of post-qualification applicants the equivalent criterion is: A star, A star, A star or better at A Level and in the case of students applying for the science courses listed in the previous paragraph the A star, A star, A star must be in three science or mathematics subjects'.

That might be out of date by now, though.

@SeasonFinale thanks for the info re: law training contracts

WRT compulsory pooling I heard it mentioned in TSR several times and found this FOI answer attached

[quote chopc]@SeasonFinale thanks for the info re: law training contracts

WRT compulsory pooling I heard it mentioned in TSR several times and found this FOI answer attached [/quote]
Hi do you have the question that accompanies that too chopc? Does it just apply to the widening access applicants or to all?

Hi everyone. No news here, just waiting for LSE. 5 months and counting! I think they’re the final uni to to release any offers for any subject. Has anyone heard anything?

@SeasonFinale

@chopc thank you

@quest1on

Hi everyone. No news here, just waiting for LSE. 5 months and counting! I think they’re the final uni to to release any offers for any subject. Has anyone heard anything?

Still none

In other news, DD just went and had her first LFT. No news from school, so all good for starting on Monday .

After failing to get through to the next round of the PWC apprenticeship we are now waiting for a regular offer from Birmingham..... It's his first choice ...

Good to hear @BigWoollyJumpers My dd also had her first test this week, she had to go into school to make a video for the students about testing. She was really worried about the test (has some sensory issues) but said it was ok which is a relief.

She is tested again on Monday, back to school on Tuesday.

Sorry to hear about PWC @derekthe1adyhamster, hope your ds is ok. I didn't know they offered apprenticeships. Must be hugely competitive.

No testing until next week for us. DD hopes to be in school by Weds if results are negative.

I'm not sure if it will be the best place for her or not, surrounded by fellow students with multiple offers.

Our pet died this morning and she seems inordinately upset by the event. He was a rescue centre senior animal that we acquired late in 2019 who was my pet really, she had no great attachment to him when he was alive.

I think it may have triggered sadness over the lack of offers to date. A school friend has 2 medicine offers now and DD looked like she'd been crying when she came down for lunch today but the discovery of the death coincided with the message from friend about the second offer this morning so I'm not sure and not wanting to pry.

@SATSmadness - I am so sorry for your DD. I can't believe how competitive medicine has been this year!

@derekthe1adyhamster I recall you saying the degree apprenticeship is even more competitive than Oxbridge.

How is he feeling?

@chopc
The attached info is from Clifford Chance. Law grads go straight to the LLM. If there is a gap, lawyers used to do a LLM! There doesn’t have to be a gap though. Decision made by firm in second year of university. Law grads start after final year straight onto the LLM. Non law grads do the conversion course after finals and then do LLM. They end up a year behind their peer group. Or more if it’s a 4 year degree.

@chopc

Thanks, she's just got to tough it out throughout the remainder of March then we've the Easter break.

My mum helpfully told me on the 'phone me last night (note to self; why, oh why, do you still expect supportive comments from that quarter after all these years ? )
"if the Universities all say no, shouldn't she just take it that they are really saying she's not right for a career in medicine ?"
Followed by
"but no-one in the family on either side is a doctor or even a nurse !" as if that means DD would never have thoughts of being one herself.

I treated myself to a modest G & T after speaking to mum. It was purely for "medicinal" purposes naturally

SATS -I’m so very sorry to hear about your pet. I know you’re worried about your DD, but you must take care of yourself too. I hope you’re ok.

As for mothers on the phone, I’ve given up trying to explain anything. All I get is “well I left school at 15 and it never did me any harm.” Or “just get his teacher to ring the university tomorrow and tell them he’s going do well and he’s a lovely boy.” This is what I’m dealing with. Or my dad, “Oh you’re all bloody fussing in London.. Look at me, school of life” blah, blah.

I’m reaching for the G&T just thinking about it.

[quote PresentingPercy]@chopc
The attached info is from Clifford Chance. Law grads go straight to the LLM. If there is a gap, lawyers used to do a LLM! There doesn’t have to be a gap though. Decision made by firm in second year of university. Law grads start after final year straight onto the LLM. Non law grads do the conversion course after finals and then do LLM. They end up a year behind their peer group. Or more if it’s a 4 year degree.[/quote]
Yes that is the LLM Legal Practice Course (so LPC but combined with LLM)

[quote SATSmadness]**@chopc

Thanks, she's just got to tough it out throughout the remainder of March then we've the Easter break.

My mum helpfully told me on the 'phone me last night (note to self; why, oh why, do you still expect supportive comments from that quarter after all these years ? )
"if the Universities all say no, shouldn't she just take it that they are really saying she's not right for a career in medicine ?"
Followed by
"but no-one in the family on either side is a doctor or even a nurse !" as if that means DD would never have thoughts of being one herself.

I treated myself to a modest G & T after speaking to mum. It was purely for "medicinal" purposes naturally [/quote]
Hang on in there. We have only had med from a handful of unis. Still loads outstanding.

In other news (D word) Classics anyone?

Thanks @PresentingPercy and @SeasonFinale . For a person doing a non law degree they should try and secure the training contract in their final year of undergraduate? Because then they will have the GDL and LPC?